Associate General Counsel in Irvine, California at West Cliff University

Westcliff University seeks an Associate General Counsel to support the General Counsel in providing legal advice across a broad range of university matters. This is a generalist in-house counsel role for a lawyer with strong drafting skills, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial higher education environment.

The Associate General Counsel will assist with legal work involving contracts, employment, policy development, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, student and academic matters, privacy, dispute management, and strategic institutional initiatives. The role requires clear written and oral communication, strong organizational skills, and the ability to translate legal analysis into practical guidance for university leaders and administrative partners.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

The ideal candidate is a lawyer who combines strong technical and AI training with a practical and service-oriented mindset. The person must be comfortable working across a wide variety of legal issues, willing to learn quickly, and able to contribute meaningfully to both routine operational work and more strategic institutional projects.

Essential Job Functions

• Reviewing, drafting, revising, and negotiating a wide variety of agreements, including vendor, services, consulting, licensing, academic partnership, and other institutional contracts
• Conducting legal research and preparing memoranda, email guidance, talking points, templates, and other practical legal work product
• Advising internal clients on legal and compliance issues affecting university operations
• Assisting with employment-related matters, including policy interpretation, workplace issues, investigations support, discipline-related questions, and coordination with Human Resources.
• Assisting with student-facing legal matters, including privacy, conduct, accommodations, and related risk-management issues.
• Supporting legal work relating to higher education regulation, state authorization, accreditation-sensitive matters, and institutional compliance.
• Assisting with governance matters, including board and committee materials, bylaws, resolutions, and corporate records.
• Supporting dispute management, claims, subpoena responses, and coordination with outside counsel.
• Assisting with privacy, data governance, and emerging technology issues, including AI-related legal questions.
• Participating in due diligence, transactional support, and post-closing integration work as needed.
• Helping to develop, revise, and maintain policies, procedures, forms, and training materials.
• Performing other related duties as assigned by the General Counsel.
• Handles other projects and tasks as needed

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• Active bar membership in good standing in California, or ability to satisfy applicable requirements for lawful in-house practice.
• Approximately 5-8 years of relevant legal experience.
• Excellent legal writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
• Strong analytical ability and practical judgment.
• Experience drafting, reviewing, or negotiating contracts.
• Experience working with Business Transactions (Real Estate, Vendor, etc.)
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with careful attention to detail.
• Ability to work professionally and collaboratively with executives, administrators, faculty, and staff.
• Discretion in handling sensitive and confidential matters.

Preferred Requirements

• Prior experience in higher education, healthcare, employment, compliance, or another regulated industry.
• Experience with one or more of the following: employment counseling, internal investigations, FERPA, Title IX, Clery, ADA/Section 504, accreditation, governance, privacy, AI governance, litigation management, and corporate transactions.
• Experience preparing policies, guidance documents, and executive-level memoranda.
• Familiarity with the operational needs of a fast-growing institution.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Ability to produce clear, concise, and business-oriented legal advice;

• Ability to learn unfamiliar subject matters quickly;

• Judgment to distinguish major risks from routine issues;

• Strong drafting discipline and attention to detail;

• Strong AI skills

• Strong interpersonal skills and client-service orientation

• Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with the General Counsel

Limitations and Disclaimer

The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position. All job requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties requested by their supervisor in compliance with Federal and State Laws. Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities. To perform this job successfully, the employee must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently. Continued employment remains on an at-will basis, unless otherwise contractually bound.

Westcliff University is an Equal Opportunity Employer